She's a mite whimsical in the brainpan.

Entries tagged with return of the condor heroes

If there is one thing watching wuxia dramas taught me it is that if there is some sort of famous saying about your martial prowess, you might as well make out your will. In Three Kingdoms, there was one about Lu Bu and his horse, and Lu Bu met a grisly grisly death (though his horse fared much better). Now there is one about beggar guy and fugly cousin in DG&SD so I am pretty sure both of them are toast. Unless one of them turns into a horse, that is.

In other news, was checking my downloads, and DG&SD promises me the below. I have no idea what is going on, but I do believe these are the bodies of sibling makeouter's parents. I foresee epic angst. Am I a bad person for saying I cannot wait?

Clearly, in wuxia world, if you are parents and you have a hot heroic kid, you are doomed to die in a grisly fashion to provide him with some character-building misery and possibly a vendetta.

Oh, and another thing I learned from wuxia. All parents are insane. This is from Heaven Sword & Dragon Sabre. That is a hell of a motherly dying advice to give to your little kid as he's freaking out over the murder of his father, not knowing his mother is about to follow suit. Way to screw him up for life, lady!

Of course, none of these are as cool as the one about the fact that having a hot female master means you simply must practice kung fu naked in a field of flowers, that I learned years ago, courtesy of ROCH.

Yeah, kung fu practice. That's what all the cool kids are calling it these days :P

I think I need a wuxia break, I am sort of overdosing. I am going back to Romantic Red Rouge.

If there is one thing watching wuxia dramas taught me it is that if there is some sort of famous saying about your martial prowess, you might as well make out your will. In Three Kingdoms, there was one about Lu Bu and his horse, and Lu Bu met a grisly grisly death (though his horse fared much better). Now there is one about beggar guy and fugly cousin in DG&SD so I am pretty sure both of them are toast. Unless one of them turns into a horse, that is.

In other news, was checking my downloads, and DG&SD promises me the below. I have no idea what is going on, but I do believe these are the bodies of sibling makeouter's parents. I foresee epic angst. Am I a bad person for saying I cannot wait?

Clearly, in wuxia world, if you are parents and you have a hot heroic kid, you are doomed to die in a grisly fashion to provide him with some character-building misery and possibly a vendetta.

Oh, and another thing I learned from wuxia. All parents are insane. This is from Heaven Sword & Dragon Sabre. That is a hell of a motherly dying advice to give to your little kid as he's freaking out over the murder of his father, not knowing his mother is about to follow suit. Way to screw him up for life, lady!

Of course, none of these are as cool as the one about the fact that having a hot female master means you simply must practice kung fu naked in a field of flowers, that I learned years ago, courtesy of ROCH.

Yeah, kung fu practice. That's what all the cool kids are calling it these days :P

I think I need a wuxia break, I am sort of overdosing. I am going back to Romantic Red Rouge.

If there is one thing watching wuxia dramas taught me it is that if there is some sort of famous saying about your martial prowess, you might as well make out your will. In Three Kingdoms, there was one about Lu Bu and his horse, and Lu Bu met a grisly grisly death (though his horse fared much better). Now there is one about beggar guy and fugly cousin in DG&SD so I am pretty sure both of them are toast. Unless one of them turns into a horse, that is.

In other news, was checking my downloads, and DG&SD promises me the below. I have no idea what is going on, but I do believe these are the bodies of sibling makeouter's parents. I foresee epic angst. Am I a bad person for saying I cannot wait?

Clearly, in wuxia world, if you are parents and you have a hot heroic kid, you are doomed to die in a grisly fashion to provide him with some character-building misery and possibly a vendetta.

Oh, and another thing I learned from wuxia. All parents are insane. This is from Heaven Sword & Dragon Sabre. That is a hell of a motherly dying advice to give to your little kid as he's freaking out over the murder of his father, not knowing his mother is about to follow suit. Way to screw him up for life, lady!

Of course, none of these are as cool as the one about the fact that having a hot female master means you simply must practice kung fu naked in a field of flowers, that I learned years ago, courtesy of ROCH.

Yeah, kung fu practice. That's what all the cool kids are calling it these days :P

I think I need a wuxia break, I am sort of overdosing. I am going back to Romantic Red Rouge.

Disclaimer: I am basing these only on the 2006 and 2008 adaptations of ROCH and LOCH respectively. I have not read the books so book purists, don't hunt me down.

I am on ep 8 of Legend of Condor Heroes and find myself faintly puzzled (in a good way :P) - for wuxia there has been so very little angst. So far it's just been picaresque adventures of sweet dim boy and unscrupulous clever girl and their assorted associates. By episode 8 of Return of Condor Heroes, Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu had already had more misery than an entire run of a kdrama. I am not complaining because YG and XLN had enough angst and hurt/comfort for 20 people, but it does seem strange :P Still, I don't trust it too much - I've been told Ariel Lin and Hu Ge's previous collaboration Little Fairy, had 10 solid eps of fluff and then plunged into Unparalleled! Angst! Of! Doom! with suicide attempts, slavery, amnesia and death by flying carpet. :P

I wonder if the lightness, so far, comes from the fact that Guo Jing himself is such an uncomplicated, sweet person - he is not tormented and conflicted - even the vengeance he has to achieve for the death of his father - he goes after it because it's his duty but there is no corrosive loathing hatred in him. Yang Guo of ROCH is a much smarter, darker, complex person, IMO.

Ironically in light of her long-standing distrust of him due to his parentage, which made his life a misery for quite a while, Yang Guo reminds me of nobody so much as a male version of Huang Rong. Both come from deeply dubious moral backgrounds (Huang Rong's father is a borderline villain and so is Yang Guo's), both have the same off-kilter, reckless, practical joke sense of humor, both are clever, both will put care for those they love above abstract good, both had potential for becoming villains themselves (and came close). Both got saved from that possible fate by those they chose to love - Huang Rong became a better person because she fell in love with Guo Jing who is pure good, and Yang Guo dedicated his life to Xiao Long Nu who is not like Guo Jing, but she has principles on a basic level and his love for her (which is a good thing) always trumped anything else that could have been questionable.

I think I like them both so because they both became ultimately good with no guideposts in childhood - Huang Rong being brought up by her father, and Yang Guo having a childhood from hell or just a plain odd one, first with Guo Jing and Huang Rong (who are the world's worst parents in general, but about that more below), then with evil monks who could inspire one to become an atheist, and then in a cave.

Yang Guo is a lot closer to what I'd imagine Huang Rong's kid to be then her own daughter, Guo Fu. I found it ironic that Huang Rong never trusted Yang Guo, never really opened her heart to him, didn't teach him martial arts either, because she was worried he'd take after his father and go all Anakin, all the while not noticing that she was the one growing a real monster in her daughter. I have no words for my loathing of Guo Fu - I don't think I have ever hated a non-OTP interloper as much. She crippled Yang Guo and caused a close to two-decades of separation for YG and XLN (the man almost killed himself, and not for lack of trying) and she got rewarded with a nice husband and a happy life! Ugh. I found her being so useless, selfish, immature, and impulse-control-phobic pretty realistic though. I doubt Guo Jing and Huang Rong had a lot of hands-on time bringing her up - saving the world repeatedly doesn't leave much time for childrearing. And she got brought up as the only child of the two greatest heroes of her age, adored by proxy, never with a want she couldn't have fulfiilled before she even thought about it, and none of it based on her own merit. And much as I love Guo Jing and Huang Rong, their personalities couldn't have made it any better - Guo Jing is so kind and straightforward that unless she was blatantly ripping wings off flies in his presence, he'd not notice her badness. And Huang Rong would notice but it all goes towards her relationships with those few she loves - she would spoil and do anything. So Guo Fu grows up into this terrible human being (who can't even back herself up by having enough talent to be a villain). Well, at least they learned from their mistakes and brought up the twins properly.

Not really related to the above but I always found the ending of ROCH a little sad, however understandable. At the end of LOCH, Guo Jing and Huang Rong are out in the world, doing cool things. At the end of ROCH, Yang Guo and XLN are in that cave, to live there forever and ever and never bother with the outside world again - just be with each other. I don't particularly blame them, all they got since leaving the cave was misery, but I still find it a little sad.

In conclusion, have a Yang Guo/XLN mv. They are so my favorite wuxia couple.

Disclaimer: I am basing these only on the 2006 and 2008 adaptations of ROCH and LOCH respectively. I have not read the books so book purists, don't hunt me down.

I am on ep 8 of Legend of Condor Heroes and find myself faintly puzzled (in a good way :P) - for wuxia there has been so very little angst. So far it's just been picaresque adventures of sweet dim boy and unscrupulous clever girl and their assorted associates. By episode 8 of Return of Condor Heroes, Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu had already had more misery than an entire run of a kdrama. I am not complaining because YG and XLN had enough angst and hurt/comfort for 20 people, but it does seem strange :P Still, I don't trust it too much - I've been told Ariel Lin and Hu Ge's previous collaboration Little Fairy, had 10 solid eps of fluff and then plunged into Unparalleled! Angst! Of! Doom! with suicide attempts, slavery, amnesia and death by flying carpet. :P

I wonder if the lightness, so far, comes from the fact that Guo Jing himself is such an uncomplicated, sweet person - he is not tormented and conflicted - even the vengeance he has to achieve for the death of his father - he goes after it because it's his duty but there is no corrosive loathing hatred in him. Yang Guo of ROCH is a much smarter, darker, complex person, IMO.

Ironically in light of her long-standing distrust of him due to his parentage, which made his life a misery for quite a while, Yang Guo reminds me of nobody so much as a male version of Huang Rong. Both come from deeply dubious moral backgrounds (Huang Rong's father is a borderline villain and so is Yang Guo's), both have the same off-kilter, reckless, practical joke sense of humor, both are clever, both will put care for those they love above abstract good, both had potential for becoming villains themselves (and came close). Both got saved from that possible fate by those they chose to love - Huang Rong became a better person because she fell in love with Guo Jing who is pure good, and Yang Guo dedicated his life to Xiao Long Nu who is not like Guo Jing, but she has principles on a basic level and his love for her (which is a good thing) always trumped anything else that could have been questionable.

I think I like them both so because they both became ultimately good with no guideposts in childhood - Huang Rong being brought up by her father, and Yang Guo having a childhood from hell or just a plain odd one, first with Guo Jing and Huang Rong (who are the world's worst parents in general, but about that more below), then with evil monks who could inspire one to become an atheist, and then in a cave.

Yang Guo is a lot closer to what I'd imagine Huang Rong's kid to be then her own daughter, Guo Fu. I found it ironic that Huang Rong never trusted Yang Guo, never really opened her heart to him, didn't teach him martial arts either, because she was worried he'd take after his father and go all Anakin, all the while not noticing that she was the one growing a real monster in her daughter. I have no words for my loathing of Guo Fu - I don't think I have ever hated a non-OTP interloper as much. She crippled Yang Guo and caused a close to two-decades of separation for YG and XLN (the man almost killed himself, and not for lack of trying) and she got rewarded with a nice husband and a happy life! Ugh. I found her being so useless, selfish, immature, and impulse-control-phobic pretty realistic though. I doubt Guo Jing and Huang Rong had a lot of hands-on time bringing her up - saving the world repeatedly doesn't leave much time for childrearing. And she got brought up as the only child of the two greatest heroes of her age, adored by proxy, never with a want she couldn't have fulfiilled before she even thought about it, and none of it based on her own merit. And much as I love Guo Jing and Huang Rong, their personalities couldn't have made it any better - Guo Jing is so kind and straightforward that unless she was blatantly ripping wings off flies in his presence, he'd not notice her badness. And Huang Rong would notice but it all goes towards her relationships with those few she loves - she would spoil and do anything. So Guo Fu grows up into this terrible human being (who can't even back herself up by having enough talent to be a villain). Well, at least they learned from their mistakes and brought up the twins properly.

Not really related to the above but I always found the ending of ROCH a little sad, however understandable. At the end of LOCH, Guo Jing and Huang Rong are out in the world, doing cool things. At the end of ROCH, Yang Guo and XLN are in that cave, to live there forever and ever and never bother with the outside world again - just be with each other. I don't particularly blame them, all they got since leaving the cave was misery, but I still find it a little sad.

In conclusion, have a Yang Guo/XLN mv. They are so my favorite wuxia couple.

Disclaimer: I am basing these only on the 2006 and 2008 adaptations of ROCH and LOCH respectively. I have not read the books so book purists, don't hunt me down.

I am on ep 8 of Legend of Condor Heroes and find myself faintly puzzled (in a good way :P) - for wuxia there has been so very little angst. So far it's just been picaresque adventures of sweet dim boy and unscrupulous clever girl and their assorted associates. By episode 8 of Return of Condor Heroes, Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu had already had more misery than an entire run of a kdrama. I am not complaining because YG and XLN had enough angst and hurt/comfort for 20 people, but it does seem strange :P Still, I don't trust it too much - I've been told Ariel Lin and Hu Ge's previous collaboration Little Fairy, had 10 solid eps of fluff and then plunged into Unparalleled! Angst! Of! Doom! with suicide attempts, slavery, amnesia and death by flying carpet. :P

I wonder if the lightness, so far, comes from the fact that Guo Jing himself is such an uncomplicated, sweet person - he is not tormented and conflicted - even the vengeance he has to achieve for the death of his father - he goes after it because it's his duty but there is no corrosive loathing hatred in him. Yang Guo of ROCH is a much smarter, darker, complex person, IMO.

Ironically in light of her long-standing distrust of him due to his parentage, which made his life a misery for quite a while, Yang Guo reminds me of nobody so much as a male version of Huang Rong. Both come from deeply dubious moral backgrounds (Huang Rong's father is a borderline villain and so is Yang Guo's), both have the same off-kilter, reckless, practical joke sense of humor, both are clever, both will put care for those they love above abstract good, both had potential for becoming villains themselves (and came close). Both got saved from that possible fate by those they chose to love - Huang Rong became a better person because she fell in love with Guo Jing who is pure good, and Yang Guo dedicated his life to Xiao Long Nu who is not like Guo Jing, but she has principles on a basic level and his love for her (which is a good thing) always trumped anything else that could have been questionable.

I think I like them both so because they both became ultimately good with no guideposts in childhood - Huang Rong being brought up by her father, and Yang Guo having a childhood from hell or just a plain odd one, first with Guo Jing and Huang Rong (who are the world's worst parents in general, but about that more below), then with evil monks who could inspire one to become an atheist, and then in a cave.

Yang Guo is a lot closer to what I'd imagine Huang Rong's kid to be then her own daughter, Guo Fu. I found it ironic that Huang Rong never trusted Yang Guo, never really opened her heart to him, didn't teach him martial arts either, because she was worried he'd take after his father and go all Anakin, all the while not noticing that she was the one growing a real monster in her daughter. I have no words for my loathing of Guo Fu - I don't think I have ever hated a non-OTP interloper as much. She crippled Yang Guo and caused a close to two-decades of separation for YG and XLN (the man almost killed himself, and not for lack of trying) and she got rewarded with a nice husband and a happy life! Ugh. I found her being so useless, selfish, immature, and impulse-control-phobic pretty realistic though. I doubt Guo Jing and Huang Rong had a lot of hands-on time bringing her up - saving the world repeatedly doesn't leave much time for childrearing. And she got brought up as the only child of the two greatest heroes of her age, adored by proxy, never with a want she couldn't have fulfiilled before she even thought about it, and none of it based on her own merit. And much as I love Guo Jing and Huang Rong, their personalities couldn't have made it any better - Guo Jing is so kind and straightforward that unless she was blatantly ripping wings off flies in his presence, he'd not notice her badness. And Huang Rong would notice but it all goes towards her relationships with those few she loves - she would spoil and do anything. So Guo Fu grows up into this terrible human being (who can't even back herself up by having enough talent to be a villain). Well, at least they learned from their mistakes and brought up the twins properly.

Not really related to the above but I always found the ending of ROCH a little sad, however understandable. At the end of LOCH, Guo Jing and Huang Rong are out in the world, doing cool things. At the end of ROCH, Yang Guo and XLN are in that cave, to live there forever and ever and never bother with the outside world again - just be with each other. I don't particularly blame them, all they got since leaving the cave was misery, but I still find it a little sad.

In conclusion, have a Yang Guo/XLN mv. They are so my favorite wuxia couple.

I am currently on ep 3 of Legend of the Condor Heroes (2008) and I am so in love, it's not even describable.

I don't watch too many of them, because their length requires a huge investment of time, but I do adore my wuxia dramas. To me, they are romantic, violent fairy tales for adults. My favorite of them (such as Return of Condor Heroes (2006)) have the same intensity and beauty that a dream does - you wake up half-sorry that nothing around you seems as vivid.

I meant to get to LOCH for ages - I liked the actors, I've heard good things about this version, and it's a prequel of sorts to my favorite wuxia drama of all time - that same Return of Condor Heroes (the protagonist of ROCH is the son of the secondary OTP of LOCH and protagonists of LOCH are important and very cool secondary characters of ROCH).

LOCH is based on a famous wuxia novel and while I cannot evaluate it as an adaptation (as I have not read it - I do not believe an English or Russian translation is available anywhere), so far the story is very engaging on its own merits.

It all starts when two legendary heroes are killed by a bunch of bad guys and their pregnant wives are left helpless. Wife of Hero N1 manages escape to Mongolia and safety. There she raises her son Guo Jing with the blessings of the local ruler and under tutelage of 6 eccentric martial arts teachers. Guo Jing (who does not know of how his father died) is sweet-natured and kind, but he is also very straightforward and rather dim. He is an adorable darling and I love him to bits already - a sort of big kid with incredible martial arts potential.

Wife of Hero N2 is not so lucky. The leader of the bad guys who killed the heroes cannot help his passion for her - the Evil Prince takes her into his Kingdom and makes her his wife. When her son is born, he treats the boy, named Yang Kang, as his own - forbidding anyone to mention to the boy the truth about his background, getting the best possible martial arts teacher for him, and developing pride in his achievement but also a certain kind of amusement at Yang Kang's desire to fight his "father's" enemies (which would have been his biological's father's allies).

Eventually the guys' paths will cross but, more importantly, Guo Jing will meet Huang Rong. I have not yet met Huang Rong, one of the most awesome heroines ever (if her character in ROCH is anything to go by) - she is supposed to be street-wise (and cross-dressing) daughter of a legendary hero and no mean fighter herself. I cannot wait!

Have Guo Jing/Huang Rong MV:

And for good measure, have Yang Kang and Mu Nianci MV (I always knew Yang Guo's parents must have been really cool!). You have NO idea how hard it was to find a non-spoilery one.

And for good measure, MV of Yang Guo/Xiao Long Nu from Return of Condor Heroes. They are one of my hugest OTPs of all time.

I am currently on ep 3 of Legend of the Condor Heroes (2008) and I am so in love, it's not even describable.

I don't watch too many of them, because their length requires a huge investment of time, but I do adore my wuxia dramas. To me, they are romantic, violent fairy tales for adults. My favorite of them (such as Return of Condor Heroes (2006)) have the same intensity and beauty that a dream does - you wake up half-sorry that nothing around you seems as vivid.

I meant to get to LOCH for ages - I liked the actors, I've heard good things about this version, and it's a prequel of sorts to my favorite wuxia drama of all time - that same Return of Condor Heroes (the protagonist of ROCH is the son of the secondary OTP of LOCH and protagonists of LOCH are important and very cool secondary characters of ROCH).

LOCH is based on a famous wuxia novel and while I cannot evaluate it as an adaptation (as I have not read it - I do not believe an English or Russian translation is available anywhere), so far the story is very engaging on its own merits.

It all starts when two legendary heroes are killed by a bunch of bad guys and their pregnant wives are left helpless. Wife of Hero N1 manages escape to Mongolia and safety. There she raises her son Guo Jing with the blessings of the local ruler and under tutelage of 6 eccentric martial arts teachers. Guo Jing (who does not know of how his father died) is sweet-natured and kind, but he is also very straightforward and rather dim. He is an adorable darling and I love him to bits already - a sort of big kid with incredible martial arts potential.

Wife of Hero N2 is not so lucky. The leader of the bad guys who killed the heroes cannot help his passion for her - the Evil Prince takes her into his Kingdom and makes her his wife. When her son is born, he treats the boy, named Yang Kang, as his own - forbidding anyone to mention to the boy the truth about his background, getting the best possible martial arts teacher for him, and developing pride in his achievement but also a certain kind of amusement at Yang Kang's desire to fight his "father's" enemies (which would have been his biological's father's allies).

Eventually the guys' paths will cross but, more importantly, Guo Jing will meet Huang Rong. I have not yet met Huang Rong, one of the most awesome heroines ever (if her character in ROCH is anything to go by) - she is supposed to be street-wise (and cross-dressing) daughter of a legendary hero and no mean fighter herself. I cannot wait!

Have Guo Jing/Huang Rong MV:

And for good measure, have Yang Kang and Mu Nianci MV (I always knew Yang Guo's parents must have been really cool!). You have NO idea how hard it was to find a non-spoilery one.

And for good measure, MV of Yang Guo/Xiao Long Nu from Return of Condor Heroes. They are one of my hugest OTPs of all time.

I am currently on ep 3 of Legend of the Condor Heroes (2008) and I am so in love, it's not even describable.

I don't watch too many of them, because their length requires a huge investment of time, but I do adore my wuxia dramas. To me, they are romantic, violent fairy tales for adults. My favorite of them (such as Return of Condor Heroes (2006)) have the same intensity and beauty that a dream does - you wake up half-sorry that nothing around you seems as vivid.

I meant to get to LOCH for ages - I liked the actors, I've heard good things about this version, and it's a prequel of sorts to my favorite wuxia drama of all time - that same Return of Condor Heroes (the protagonist of ROCH is the son of the secondary OTP of LOCH and protagonists of LOCH are important and very cool secondary characters of ROCH).

LOCH is based on a famous wuxia novel and while I cannot evaluate it as an adaptation (as I have not read it - I do not believe an English or Russian translation is available anywhere), so far the story is very engaging on its own merits.

It all starts when two legendary heroes are killed by a bunch of bad guys and their pregnant wives are left helpless. Wife of Hero N1 manages escape to Mongolia and safety. There she raises her son Guo Jing with the blessings of the local ruler and under tutelage of 6 eccentric martial arts teachers. Guo Jing (who does not know of how his father died) is sweet-natured and kind, but he is also very straightforward and rather dim. He is an adorable darling and I love him to bits already - a sort of big kid with incredible martial arts potential.

Wife of Hero N2 is not so lucky. The leader of the bad guys who killed the heroes cannot help his passion for her - the Evil Prince takes her into his Kingdom and makes her his wife. When her son is born, he treats the boy, named Yang Kang, as his own - forbidding anyone to mention to the boy the truth about his background, getting the best possible martial arts teacher for him, and developing pride in his achievement but also a certain kind of amusement at Yang Kang's desire to fight his "father's" enemies (which would have been his biological's father's allies).

Eventually the guys' paths will cross but, more importantly, Guo Jing will meet Huang Rong. I have not yet met Huang Rong, one of the most awesome heroines ever (if her character in ROCH is anything to go by) - she is supposed to be street-wise (and cross-dressing) daughter of a legendary hero and no mean fighter herself. I cannot wait!

Have Guo Jing/Huang Rong MV:

And for good measure, have Yang Kang and Mu Nianci MV (I always knew Yang Guo's parents must have been really cool!). You have NO idea how hard it was to find a non-spoilery one.

And for good measure, MV of Yang Guo/Xiao Long Nu from Return of Condor Heroes. They are one of my hugest OTPs of all time.

Watchitwatchitwatchitwatchit. Or Guo Jing and Huang Rong will end you.

THERE IS NO MORE ROCKING FEMALE THAN HUANG RONG, the heroine of wuxia drama Legend of the Condor Heroes. I kid you not. (She never gets less awesome either. In Return of Condor Heroes she goes into battle hoisting her newborn daughter under one arm. TAKE THAT WIMPY HEROINES OF MANY A DRAMA). Here she is in her mischievous LOCH glory:

I am sure you could tell by an almost complete lack of any drama related posts in the last week that I have been in a drama slump - nothing seemed to be catching my attention. Maybe the stunning disappointment of Take Care of the Lady bleached everything out of my brain? Who knows.

But I proudly announce to you that the slump is broken.

The cause? 2008 adaptation of Legend of Condor Heroes starring Hu Ge and Ariel Lin. LOCH is a wuxia (period, martial arts, epic) drama based on an apparently legendary novel. I have not read the original but have had the exposure to some of the characters, as LOCH's protagonists, Guo Jing and Huang Rong, play important secondary roles in my favorite wuxia drama of all time, Return of Condor Heroes (2006). In fact, the protagonist of ROCH is the son of one of LOCH's characters.

Anyway, the story's hero is Guo Jing. Guo Jing is nature's boyscout - he might not be the brightest bulb out there by far but he is honorable, forthright, and really good at fighting. REALLY good. However, despite being the most amazing martial arts fighter the world has ever seen, Guo Jing is not the sharpest tool in the shed so it's good when his path crosses with that of Huang Rong. Huang Rong is sharp as a tack, ocassionally morally flexible, and pure FUN. Oh, and she can outfight most men. She gives him smarts and he gives her a moral center. They smite enemies together and hug an awful lot and cry over their lurve. I bask in the OTP!

Did I mention that when he first meets her she is cross-dressing as a boy?

YES. IT'S LIKE COFFEE PRINCE. WITH SHARP SHARP SWORDS.

Here is a shippy sort-angsty MV:

There is also a secondary OTP of tragic awesomeness. As a bonus they are Yang Guo's (ROCH) parents thus conferring irresistableness by sheer association. He is the son of Guo Jing's father's best friend and is also Guo Jing's sworn brother who gets seduced by the dark side, she is his loving wife...

There are official subbed dvds you can get in all the usual places. You can stream on mysoju. I am sure dls are available in all the usual places too.

Nothing will trump the passionate, angsty, forbidden OTP of ROCH for me but this is darn irresistable, you guys.

Watchitwatchitwatchitwatchit. Or Guo Jing and Huang Rong will end you.

THERE IS NO MORE ROCKING FEMALE THAN HUANG RONG, the heroine of wuxia drama Legend of the Condor Heroes. I kid you not. (She never gets less awesome either. In Return of Condor Heroes she goes into battle hoisting her newborn daughter under one arm. TAKE THAT WIMPY HEROINES OF MANY A DRAMA). Here she is in her mischievous LOCH glory:

I am sure you could tell by an almost complete lack of any drama related posts in the last week that I have been in a drama slump - nothing seemed to be catching my attention. Maybe the stunning disappointment of Take Care of the Lady bleached everything out of my brain? Who knows.

But I proudly announce to you that the slump is broken.

The cause? 2008 adaptation of Legend of Condor Heroes starring Hu Ge and Ariel Lin. LOCH is a wuxia (period, martial arts, epic) drama based on an apparently legendary novel. I have not read the original but have had the exposure to some of the characters, as LOCH's protagonists, Guo Jing and Huang Rong, play important secondary roles in my favorite wuxia drama of all time, Return of Condor Heroes (2006). In fact, the protagonist of ROCH is the son of one of LOCH's characters.

Anyway, the story's hero is Guo Jing. Guo Jing is nature's boyscout - he might not be the brightest bulb out there by far but he is honorable, forthright, and really good at fighting. REALLY good. However, despite being the most amazing martial arts fighter the world has ever seen, Guo Jing is not the sharpest tool in the shed so it's good when his path crosses with that of Huang Rong. Huang Rong is sharp as a tack, ocassionally morally flexible, and pure FUN. Oh, and she can outfight most men. She gives him smarts and he gives her a moral center. They smite enemies together and hug an awful lot and cry over their lurve. I bask in the OTP!

Did I mention that when he first meets her she is cross-dressing as a boy?

YES. IT'S LIKE COFFEE PRINCE. WITH SHARP SHARP SWORDS.

Here is a shippy sort-angsty MV:

There is also a secondary OTP of tragic awesomeness. As a bonus they are Yang Guo's (ROCH) parents thus conferring irresistableness by sheer association. He is the son of Guo Jing's father's best friend and is also Guo Jing's sworn brother who gets seduced by the dark side, she is his loving wife...

There are official subbed dvds you can get in all the usual places. You can stream on mysoju. I am sure dls are available in all the usual places too.

Nothing will trump the passionate, angsty, forbidden OTP of ROCH for me but this is darn irresistable, you guys.

Watchitwatchitwatchitwatchit. Or Guo Jing and Huang Rong will end you.

THERE IS NO MORE ROCKING FEMALE THAN HUANG RONG, the heroine of wuxia drama Legend of the Condor Heroes. I kid you not. (She never gets less awesome either. In Return of Condor Heroes she goes into battle hoisting her newborn daughter under one arm. TAKE THAT WIMPY HEROINES OF MANY A DRAMA). Here she is in her mischievous LOCH glory:

I am sure you could tell by an almost complete lack of any drama related posts in the last week that I have been in a drama slump - nothing seemed to be catching my attention. Maybe the stunning disappointment of Take Care of the Lady bleached everything out of my brain? Who knows.

But I proudly announce to you that the slump is broken.

The cause? 2008 adaptation of Legend of Condor Heroes starring Hu Ge and Ariel Lin. LOCH is a wuxia (period, martial arts, epic) drama based on an apparently legendary novel. I have not read the original but have had the exposure to some of the characters, as LOCH's protagonists, Guo Jing and Huang Rong, play important secondary roles in my favorite wuxia drama of all time, Return of Condor Heroes (2006). In fact, the protagonist of ROCH is the son of one of LOCH's characters.

Anyway, the story's hero is Guo Jing. Guo Jing is nature's boyscout - he might not be the brightest bulb out there by far but he is honorable, forthright, and really good at fighting. REALLY good. However, despite being the most amazing martial arts fighter the world has ever seen, Guo Jing is not the sharpest tool in the shed so it's good when his path crosses with that of Huang Rong. Huang Rong is sharp as a tack, ocassionally morally flexible, and pure FUN. Oh, and she can outfight most men. She gives him smarts and he gives her a moral center. They smite enemies together and hug an awful lot and cry over their lurve. I bask in the OTP!

Did I mention that when he first meets her she is cross-dressing as a boy?

YES. IT'S LIKE COFFEE PRINCE. WITH SHARP SHARP SWORDS.

Here is a shippy sort-angsty MV:

There is also a secondary OTP of tragic awesomeness. As a bonus they are Yang Guo's (ROCH) parents thus conferring irresistableness by sheer association. He is the son of Guo Jing's father's best friend and is also Guo Jing's sworn brother who gets seduced by the dark side, she is his loving wife...

There are official subbed dvds you can get in all the usual places. You can stream on mysoju. I am sure dls are available in all the usual places too.

Nothing will trump the passionate, angsty, forbidden OTP of ROCH for me but this is darn irresistable, you guys.

Twdramas were my first drama loves (Mars and Meteor Garden were my first and second drama, respectively) and you never forget your first love, do you?

That is why, much as I might love the slickness of kdrama and the understatedness of jdrama, few things will get me as giddy or emo as a well-done twdrama.

So, after I’ve done my Top Dozen Jdramas and my Top 25 Kdramas, the next logical step is the Top 10 Twdramas/Cdramas, isn’t it? So I did one over a year ago, but have found that I need to majorly revise it.

So here is my updated Top 10 twdrama/cdrama list. Once again, same thing applies: only finished ones (or nearly), as unspoilery as I can make it, blahblahblah.

Twdramas were my first drama loves (Mars and Meteor Garden were my first and second drama, respectively) and you never forget your first love, do you?

That is why, much as I might love the slickness of kdrama and the understatedness of jdrama, few things will get me as giddy or emo as a well-done twdrama.

So, after I’ve done my Top Dozen Jdramas and my Top 25 Kdramas, the next logical step is the Top 10 Twdramas/Cdramas, isn’t it? So I did one over a year ago, but have found that I need to majorly revise it.

So here is my updated Top 10 twdrama/cdrama list. Once again, same thing applies: only finished ones (or nearly), as unspoilery as I can make it, blahblahblah.

Twdramas were my first drama loves (Mars and Meteor Garden were my first and second drama, respectively) and you never forget your first love, do you?

That is why, much as I might love the slickness of kdrama and the understatedness of jdrama, few things will get me as giddy or emo as a well-done twdrama.

So, after I’ve done my Top Dozen Jdramas and my Top 25 Kdramas, the next logical step is the Top 10 Twdramas/Cdramas, isn’t it? So I did one over a year ago, but have found that I need to majorly revise it.

So here is my updated Top 10 twdrama/cdrama list. Once again, same thing applies: only finished ones (or nearly), as unspoilery as I can make it, blahblahblah.

This is a post to promote walkwithheroes's amazing, amazing Return of the Condor Heroes MV:

Perfect. Just perfect.

I like some wuxia dramas but ROCH is the only one I truly love - I don't know if it's the epicness, the gorgeous visuals, hurt/comfort out of this world, the to-die-for forbidden love story, or the fact that Crystal Liu and Huang Xiaoming are the most beautiful people I have ever seen.

He is an orphan who stumbles into a cave where a mystic, slightly older martial arts master leaves. She teaches him and eventually they fall in love but the world views master-student relationship as akin to parental so everyone is against them - but that is only yhe beginning.

This is a post to promote walkwithheroes's amazing, amazing Return of the Condor Heroes MV:

Perfect. Just perfect.

I like some wuxia dramas but ROCH is the only one I truly love - I don't know if it's the epicness, the gorgeous visuals, hurt/comfort out of this world, the to-die-for forbidden love story, or the fact that Crystal Liu and Huang Xiaoming are the most beautiful people I have ever seen.

He is an orphan who stumbles into a cave where a mystic, slightly older martial arts master leaves. She teaches him and eventually they fall in love but the world views master-student relationship as akin to parental so everyone is against them - but that is only yhe beginning.

This is a post to promote walkwithheroes's amazing, amazing Return of the Condor Heroes MV:

Perfect. Just perfect.

I like some wuxia dramas but ROCH is the only one I truly love - I don't know if it's the epicness, the gorgeous visuals, hurt/comfort out of this world, the to-die-for forbidden love story, or the fact that Crystal Liu and Huang Xiaoming are the most beautiful people I have ever seen.

He is an orphan who stumbles into a cave where a mystic, slightly older martial arts master leaves. She teaches him and eventually they fall in love but the world views master-student relationship as akin to parental so everyone is against them - but that is only yhe beginning.

It was gorgeous, dream-like and intense, and had a lot to say about the nature of memory and longing and loss, though if you are looking for a movie with any sort of a coherent plot, look elsewhere.

You know the oddest thing? After we got home, one thing and another kept niggling at me and after diligent searching, I realized that AoTR is a very arthouse, free-form prequel to nothing else than the famous Condor Heroes trilogy by Louis Cha, about the younger days of three of the elderly swordmasters who appear in e.g. Return of the Condor Heroes. That's sort of insane, connecting my wuxia dramas and Wong Kar Wai. I mean, the swordsman who brings the wine of forgetfulness in AoTR is Huang Rong's father!

My mind, it is blown.

Also, I am rather amused that if you look at it one way, Wong Kar Wai, it seems, made a fanfic.

It was gorgeous, dream-like and intense, and had a lot to say about the nature of memory and longing and loss, though if you are looking for a movie with any sort of a coherent plot, look elsewhere.

You know the oddest thing? After we got home, one thing and another kept niggling at me and after diligent searching, I realized that AoTR is a very arthouse, free-form prequel to nothing else than the famous Condor Heroes trilogy by Louis Cha, about the younger days of three of the elderly swordmasters who appear in e.g. Return of the Condor Heroes. That's sort of insane, connecting my wuxia dramas and Wong Kar Wai. I mean, the swordsman who brings the wine of forgetfulness in AoTR is Huang Rong's father!

My mind, it is blown.

Also, I am rather amused that if you look at it one way, Wong Kar Wai, it seems, made a fanfic.